The color of life.

When I first arrived back in Oslo, it seemed impossible to go back to my all to familiar school/work-routine that I carefully had created for myself. The first morning back at home, as I laid in my bed, the very bed that I had missed for so long, staring at the ceiling, noticing that there were no geckos, ants or cockroaches in or around my bed, I was struggling tremendously.

School, work, exercise, sleep. I had longed for my own routine, a routine I was personally responsible for and in charge of. I had missed it so much, but somehow it didn’t feel like this was actually my life. Something had changed. That something was me.

Life in India was colorful, there was no routine and no deadlines. A bubble-life if you will and I kind of liked it. People told us constantly where to be and when to be there, what to eat and how to eat it correctly. In a short period of time, all decisions were taken out of our hands, not without a fight mind you, after all we were all strong independent individuals, but slowly we learnt how to follow instructions and all we had to do is observe and soak in what ever was around us.

But being back in Norway, I had to relearn how to make decisions for myself, I had to relearn how to be a grownup. That also meant toning down my colorful clothes, I quickly, eagerly and almost happily exchanged my carefully selected India-rainbow-clothes for a dark pair of jeans and a blue blazer. My first day of work I put on make up, did my hair and looked like I actually belonged into business rather than on a playground. And yet, I knew that the person that stared at me from my own reflection, wasn’t the same person that stared into the very same reflection a few short months ago.

I’m not saying, that India changed my perspective on life, how I view the world, who I identify as, but India definitely put some pepper in my step, some music in my life and reminded me how much I loved dancing. In life, we all to often get sucked into a corporate being, we often forget, that there is more to life than bills and money. We tend to ignore our urge to take breaks here and there and have chai while letting the world pass by. We pretend to be color blind and see the world in black and white when there are so many extraordinary colors surrounding us.

So yes, adjusting to life back in Norway has not been easy, but I don’t think there is anything wrong with seeing everything with a bit more color. After all, it’s color that makes life so unbelievably amazing. Like the wonderful contrast of the ocean and the beach, or all amazing nuances between day and night. Or like finding two identical shells at the Arabian sea, the only thing that distinguished the two of them are their colors, but both of them equally amazing. More color in life is what we all need.